“I’ll Never be You”

What a kick producing this song for Dane has been…

While we were working together on Retaliation, Dane played me “I’ll Never Be You” on the guitar.  I loved it!  I could instantly hear how Dane’s performance could be translated into a full production.  The song just spoke to me (I’ll have to ask my therapist what that means…).

For the next year Dane and I talked about getting together and producing this and some of his other music – but somehow life (and his burgeoning superstardom) kept us from jumping right into it.

That is until this past summer, when we finally were able to schedule a couple of days to get things started.  We recorded Dane’s guitar part in my livingroom on my Gibson, 1953 ES 125 T, dropped in a rough vocal, and then I spent the next month adding guitars and tweaking the production.

Then, on June 29th, 2006, Dane, his manager Brian Volk-Weiss, and I headed into Henson Studios to recorded drums, bass, and Dane’s final vocals.

The first preview of the song was released on Christmas day as gift to Dane’s fans.  You can hear the song on iTunes by clicking here or on the picture to the right.  I invite you to check it out! 

As far as the production, I have to extend a big thanks to my team:

John Rodd – who recorded the bass, drums and Dane’s vocals at Henson Studios
Bobby Hurst and Gregg Bissonette – the legendary musicians who contributed their priceless performances on bass and drums
Mark Hiskey and the guys at Ilio for making certain I always have the best sounds.
Yakov Gilad & Gilad Karen of Waves – without who’s plug-ins I just can’t do anything!
And most importantly, my partner Eímear Noone, who’s inspiration and encouragement gives me the confidence to pursue this dream.